Revise Prison Service safeguarding guidance
IICSA · Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · Issued 26 February 2019 · Addressed to: Ministry of Justice
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Chair and Panel note that Prison Service Instruction 08/2012, which sets out the mandatory actions for young offender institutions and secure training centres for 'maintaining a safe and secure environment', has expired. The Chair and Panel recommend that the Ministry of Justice revises and publishes this Prison Service Instruction to provide clear guidance on how custodial institutions must respond to allegations of child sexual abuse. This should include a requirement for all allegations to be referred to a child protection professional who is independent of the institution. The Chair and Panel also recommend that all institutions, including those which are privately run, publish their safeguarding local procedures in full as well as regular reports about their use, to aid scrutiny and increase transparency.
IICSA, Sexual Abuse of Children in Custodial Institutions: 2009-2017 Investigation Report · 26 Feb 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government stated that PSI 08/2012 was under review as part of the policy frameworks programme (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
- No published replacement policy framework for PSI 08/2012 has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice stated that work had begun to revise or replace Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) with 'policy frameworks'. In advance of updating PSI 08/2012, the Youth Custody Service published a policy framework that replaced some aspects of PSI 08/2012 relating to behaviour management of children. On 4 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice stated that early work had started on producing the Care and Management of Young People framework that will replace PSI 08/2012. On 23 July 2019, the Ministry of Justice also stated that the Youth Custody Service would work with the Department for Education to produce 'Keeping Children Safe in Custody', which would thereafter be updated annually. On 4 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the Youth Custody Service was drafting 'Keeping Children Safe in Secure Settings' guidance. For more information on this update, see row 26.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.